After arriving at the first radio station (KFOG), we waited in the lobby while DJ parked the car. Alison decided to thrill the Dels with her wondrous rendition of Cannon in D by Pachelbel on the mandolin, after which Iain said that she might want to consider practicing before taking her act on the road. This great performance fooled the security guard into thinking that Alison was in fact part of the band, and he asked her how her tour was going. (Freak.) This is also when we took the first of what would soon become MANY MANY elevator rides.

At KFOG, Alison told Justin about her idea to start a Del tribute band with Doug Brown. No need to get into the details here -- just know that at the end of this babble period, the band was looking at her with incredulous looks on their faces.

Caroline took pics during the KFOG show while Taire marveled at the amount of Lloyd Cole albums they had and Alison played with the equipment. They performed "Not Where It's At" and "Medicine", during which dust fell from the ceiling and almost into Justin's face. Ick. One would think they would clean those places more, but maybe dust is good for acoustics.

After the show, we departed on elevator ride #2 and headed out to wait for DJ to pick up his passengers. Justin was practically killed by a maniac driving a BMW backing into a parking space at 90 mph. We think he thought Justin was a parking attendant. San Franciscans can sure be snobby! :P

Anyway... then we drove to radio station #2, KLLC (or, as it's listeners call it, Alice). On our way up an escalator, we spied a Victoria's Secret, and Andy declared that he wanted to buy himself a bra. (Thought we'd throw that tidbit of info in for all you avid Andy fans.) Then we took elevator rides #3 and 4 to the 32nd floor of some building and then walked to Alice.

The people at this radio station are weird. They have these pictures on the ceiling area of the studio that people send in... one was of this kid in a pumpkin, which everyone was gawking over. Webster, the DJ, was playing with the standby lights and noticing that we all shut up the instant they started blinking, even if they were doing so for no reason. When the Dels were introduced, Webster made a comment about the fact that we were standing in the studio constituting a "small crowd", at which point Justin introduced us to all of the listening audience and forced Alison to talk. Then Webster called the station "Alison, at 97.3" because Alison had been... babbling! that she wanted to rename the station.

The guys played "Not Where It's At" and "Always The Last To Know" and then Iain ran out to use the phone, forcing us all to wait in the lobby and entertain each other with talk of piercing (when a man says "clitoris" with a Scottish accent, it sounds REALLY odd... odd enough that Taire asked Justin to repeat it ... lol) while DJ squirmed uncomfortably and Alison babbled more. When Alison gave Justin a high five, he was forced to pay Quinner $1 for making an "Americanism". This, in combo with a flat coin whose value I can't remember, replaces the marble. So everyone who keeps asking them about marbles, THEY DON'T USE THEM ANYMORE!! ::ahem:: When Iain finished on the phone, we took elevator rides #5 and 6 down to the basement only to find that the trunk of the rental was busted and had to be held down with netting. (Don't ask.)

We also found that Andy is the proud daddy of a 5 mo. old baby named George. How sweet is that?! Taire asked him all about the life of a father on the road, and compared kid stories with him. DJ fixed the trunk and we all hopped into our respective vehicles. Since Caroline had no idea where she was, we waited for DJ to pull out of his space so we could follow him. We actually witnessed him run over the same cone 4 times in an effort to exit a space on the end of a row. When he finally got it together and got out of the space, he pulled into the middle of an intersection on a busy street. We were in the middle of that intersection for 3 light changes without moving an inch, while a MUNI bus driver on the cross-street revved his engine at us and grimaced. It was frightening. At this point Justin said "twat", which means "idiot" in the UK but NOT IN THE US! HELLO! Okay, we're over that. Justin also thought the back of DJ's rental looked like rolls of fat, yummy.

At 6:00 we dropped the guys off at the Fillmore so they could do their sound check, and DJ kindly informed us we could not park in a MUNI bus lane (which was really quite hard to figure out). When we told Justin we were going to a sushi dinner he said he was jealous, and we considered bringing him some but raw fish isn't that good when it's spoiled. After dinner we walked around a bit and then went back to the Fillmore, talked to an AWESOME guard with mucho piercings, and then went inside and hung around. At this point, Mark Price walked by us and we introduced ourselves since we hadn't met him yet. He's a really nice guy and he was on his way to meet some friends so we didn't talk to him too much.

Okay, this is the interesting part. We had to put our purses somewhere in the Fillmore, but anyone who has met the coatcheck girl knows she's as reliable as a ... uh ... as finding a Rush fan at a Del show. OBVIOUSLY we had no desire to leave our valuables with her, so we went behind the curtain upstairs into the area reserved for the band and put them under a table which had two tablecloths on it, and then put black cloths over them. Since it was relatively dark in there anyway, the purses were well hidden, but this didn't stop Alison from becoming a major paranoial freak and checking on her purse anyway. We also bought our t-shits while waiting for the show to start, which were boring black with yellow text on the front.

For some reason, the people of the Del Amitri mailing list had tried to convince Alison that people actually out there know who she is. So, we decided to keep a running tab on how many of the fans said, "Are you Alison?" Total for this show: 5. Amazing. During this time, Karen, Lori, and Lynn made their great and wondrous appearance, stealing their places at the front away from less dedicated and pushy fans, with Karen posting herself directly in front of Iain's monitor so she could eye his fillings.

The show itself was great. Dog's Eye View was the opening act, and we had been talking with them briefly at the hotel so we knew they were nice guys. A girl in the front of the stage told us that she was a huge HUGE fan, so when the show was over Alison jumped up on stage and grabbed Peter's pick while Caroline snagged a set list and they gave them to the girl, telling her that she had to promise to stay for the Dels as a payback. She looked like she was going to pass out from joy, heh heh heh.

The Dels were AWESOME! (Surprise!) Setlist to be added soon!

During the show, the we were all dancing around and singing, so when we all held up signs during the first encore with requests, Justin made a statement to the effect that since we were so busy dancing, cheering, and singing that we probably didn't hear any of the concert itself. Afterwards he was quite worried that he had ::sniff:: hurt ::sniff:: our feelings ::sniff:: but we're over it now.

The aftershow was interesting because about 9 people latched themselves onto Alison and begged her to take them upstairs. One of them was this girl whose ex-boyfriend had written and recorded a song called "Justin Currie's Lips" and given the tape to him at a show. She wanted to talk to him to see what he thought of the song, which she said he wrote because she used to always tell him that he had Justin's lips. Justin told her that it was good but he thought that the name should be change from Justin Currie to something different (like Milton Berle? lol). Karen, at this time, was finding it quite difficult to talk to Iain as Caroline struggled to force her to say something. Anything. Even a filling comment. She refused.

John Reid doesn't stop smiling. Agh. And Justin is the SWEATIEST HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET! Ask Karen, whom he sweated on (and who enjoyed it)!

Alison was talking to Justin when three women came up to him and told him they had never heard of the Dels before, "but we thought you were WONDERFUL tonight! But... I guess everyone thinks that, don't they?" When Alison said, "No, I think he's crap," and Justin burst out laughing while the slimy women got offended because they thought she was serious. Come on, people. How much more sucking up could you muster?

After the aftershow, we were going to go to a bar with the guys, but we had no NO no idea how to get there. So, Caroline followed JT (the awesome driver!) on to the tour bus to get directions. While fans stood outside the bus gaping Caroline trotted on to the bus (it was fun!). Uhh.. yeah, so on the bus, she sat down with JT and a map. Iain was there too and was sure to mention that the area was not very safe... so
Caroline said "Will you protect me?"
Iain: "Sure!"
Caroline: "Ok.. so if I get in trouble you will run out and hit the mean person over the head with your guitar for me??"
Iain laughs, so Caroline tells JT that she will race him to his parking place and jumps off the bus..

Since the bar was connected to the hotel, Caroline and JT competed over a parking space (bus vs Mustang) in front. Caroline and Alison are underage, so when they were carded they (of course) claimed to be over 21 but were still not allowed to drink. In fact, the man at the door dragged them to the bar and told the tender not to serve them. The bartender was cool, though, and gave them free soda. (Yum.) Taire, of course, could drink all she wanted, but didn't because she's a responsible person. Then they walked around a bit and went to the courtyard to hang out with Derek, Justin, and John (who was still smiling). This is when Alison, who was exhausted, had the greatest desire to babble of her life, and began talking to Justin about Religious Studies (and the fact that her parents ... well, no need to tell the story again, just note that in the middle of this story Derek proclaimed that he was in the Twilight Zone and Taire and Justin decided that Justin would now forever have something to laugh about).

We also had the pleasure of seeing Justin be loud and manly when he told the roadie Buddy to shut up after hotel management had asked us to quiet down. Wow, it was quite the sight. Around this time Alison had become delirious and Taire and Caroline were pooped, so we left with kisses all around and a promise to see each other in LA on Sunday.

Alison is tired because Taire snores. (Well, maybe not, but Alison is tired anyway.) Of course, she is forced by the mean and evil Burbankian to wake at an obnoxiously early hour in order to take her to the airport for a 10AM flight. AGH!

Caroline and Alison then drive a "long way down" (heh heh... get it? That's a Del Amitri song! You know, Del Amitri! Those people who sing "Roll To Me"! Remember them?) to Burbank to be with the evil woman. The trip consisted of: hearing "Evidence" 10 times in a row, the infamous California aqua-duck, stopping off and buying candy in order to stay awake, and speeding. Lots and lots of speeding.

Anyway, blah blah blah, you don't care about this part, Alison and Caroline get to Taire's and make cookies and try to stay awake. Quinner had given us those handy laminates at the last show and told us to be at the El Rey around 5 in order to see them before the show, so we chatted it up and decided that the best thing to do the next day was to shop for Docs and buy presents. So, we went shopping (which you don't need to hear about because it's not Del-related), and bought presents for our fave guys:

1. For Andy: a really awesome outfit for George (Note: If you want to shop in Burbank, stay away from Mervyns, where people like to haggle prices over $3 pieces of children's clothing. It makes things move really sllooowwwllllyyyy.)
2. For Quinner: black Jelly Bellies (We watched "Let's Go Home" in a sleepy stupor the night before and were awe-struck by the particular acting greatness of Quinner on a payphone, so we decided to pay him homage.)
3. For Iain: Swiss Ives minty yummy-smelling conditioner (per the comment we had made, post-burn, that he needed a deep-conditioning treatment.)
4. For Kris/Mark: an American slang dictionary (see previous part of review for details)
5. For Justin: Taire broke marriage vows and gave him a Replacements bootleg. Mike (her hubby) didn't even notice it was gone anyway, what a dweeb.

Taire, who was under-represented in the last part of this review, will now be mentioned for her outstanding coolness. Taire likes green tea. Taire likes green tea with honey even more. And when it comes in a tall, green glass and says "Arizona" on it, Taire doggone worships the stuff (or at least likes it better than Irn Bru). So, in an effort to help our men recover from the horrible horrors of a one-day trip to Cincinnati, Taire went and bought warehouse-sized amounts of the stuff to give to them as peppy drinks. (When presented with the tea, Justin burst into chrouses of "Ave Maria" and hosited Taire over his head, telling her he worshipped her and would never forget her. Then he proposed and they married on the stage of the El Rey that night. Anyone who was there will probably deny this ever happened because the audience was under the influence of opium, which was pumped from the fog machines, and then given post-hypnotic suggestions that... uh... okay, we're lying. Heh heh heh.) Alison and Derek chatted about great sodas, and both were of the opinion that DR STEWARTS CREAM ALE is the BEST! cream soda EVER! Wee haw!

Yah yah yah, so we showed up at the El Rey to meet Karen and Lori and then went inside. Once again, Alison's coolness and rugged good looks persuaded the people to let our untagged friends inside. We went up to the dressing room and gave our presents over, then got blue all-access wristbands from Quinner for the after-show. Justin had a listen to Doug Brown's "Be My Downfall" rap and rocked out (see photo). We then all took a listen and laughed at Doug behind his back. (Of course, now that he knows about it, I see some serious abuse in our futures!) Justin SWORE he would play "Evidence" for us and was even practicing it. Let me say at this moment that all of Alison's eternal happiness was riding on the fact that Justin made a solemn oath to her to play "Evidence" and, according to what we have learned from "Outlander", would keep his word upon penalty of deep and grevious guilt and pain because he was a member of a Highland clan. Remember these words.

Caroline gave Mark ("I'm too sexy for my drumset") and Kris ("Moonwalker") their Del net club membership cards. Kris and Caroline talked about moonwalking and how Caroline was going to send him telepathic messages to moonwalk while on stage.

Then they invited us to eat with them but we told them we had eaten already. Okay, so we're stupid for turning down another (possibly) free meal, but we're nice kids. :)

Alison and Caroline went outside and tried to find Jenna. Dave Wartik showed up so he came inside as Alison continued the futile search for her long-lost roomie.

When the doors were about to open, Jenna was still nowhere to be found, so we staked out the front of the stage and enjoyed (once again) Dog's Eye View. Before the show Caroline and the drummer for DEV, Alan, had a great conversation over his hamburger. He said that he was really tired so she promised to try and keep him awake during the show. Unfortunatly for him, he was so into the music that his drumstick broke during the set. Sooo.. he threw the stick down to Caroline... she could have lost an eye! (heehee) Alison got half of the stick due to her relentless begging and pleading for part it.. what a sweet sister! :)

The Dels setlist:
1. Some Other Sucker's Parade
2. Just Like A Man
3. Always The Last To Know
4. Cruel Light of Day
5. Not Where It's At
6. Paper Thin
7. Here & Now
8. What I Think She Sees
9. Roll to Me
10. Jimmy Blue
11. Ones That You Love
12. Hatful of Rain
13. Start With Me
14. Stone Cold Sober
    Encore 1
15. Medicine
16. When I Want You (a request)
17. Be My Downfall
    Encore 2
18. In the Frame (partial) (a request)
19. Driving With The Brakes On
20. Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Okay, now we'd like to say another thing. Do you notice the absence of a certain song? A song which features blue soap? A song which Justin told Alison he would play? A song which was mentioned during the show? A song which Justin said he would do IN SAN DIEGO, where ALISON AND CAROLINE AND TAIRE would NOT be?!?!?!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????????????????

Alison almost cried in the middle of the concert. And Caroline was mmmaaaddd. ::sniff::

So here we are, sobbing, after the show, waiting for the guys to change so we can go back into the dressing room and retrieve our stuff. Derek tells us everyone's out... but we guess Kris doesn't really COUNT as everyone, as Alison walks in and happens upon our fave new guitarist in a state of undress. (Note: write for a description of his underware... (g)) Wee haw! Talk about making her pulse race! (g)

Anyway, we went to the aftershow, and chatted with everyone as we had done before. Alison met Beth Tallman, who thought she was Kelli at first. Caroline got cool posters for us so we had the guys sign them. Alison kept telling Justin off for not doing her song. Caroline also got to talk to her fave DEV member (VBG!), Dermot, the bassist ::drool::. What a great conversation about David Bowie! Unfortunatly it was interrupted by a certain sister who was very impatient for a certain poster... but that's ok.. maybe... And then we went to the....

VIPER ROOM!
Death place of River Pheonix.
Bar of the great musicians.
21 and older only.

Taire took off in her car and almost was lost, until we saw the tour bus come into sight. Quinner, who obviously has forgotten what it's like to be under 21, actually ASKED THE MEN AT THE DOOR if under-21 yr olds could come in, and pointed to Alison (who should never of asked Quinner if we would have been able to get in!) Of course, he said no, so we were doomed to the outside, until some unsuspecting soul saw us at the back door w/our laminates off and asked us if we wanted to go back inside. So... uh... we snuck in. Justin bought Alison a beer (responsible Caroline turned down the offer.. who would have guessed?) and they all danced. It was rad. Then the bar closed and everyone went home.

Justin listening to Doug Brown's "Be My Downfall Rap"